New for 2017: Breif monthly summary statements for income and expenses

December Income: Year-over-year monthly income was up over 300% Margins improved as expected. Seed inventory is good. Some seeds will sell out in January. Winter sowing of wildflower seeds is really catching on. There is a good chance that most seeds sold will actually grow.

​December Expenses: Year-over-year spending was up slightly over 50% Volume was up so the shipping costs had to go up. Nothing unusual about the added expensed this month. Spending should stay flat into 2018. Some soil will need to be purchased soon.

santa says winter sow milkweed seeds

November Income: Income was solid at $776.21 Margins are not as thin as they look. Milkweed seed customers are ordering more seeds at one time which is driving down the overall shipping cost per order.

​November Expenses: Spending was $760.11 which is mostly reinvesting in the future to create organic growth. The spending appears to be winning customers. The average spend per order has increased. All seeds are listed in the Store right now. Some have already sold out.

ULISTAC volunteer day

October Income: Income was the highest ever. $1,195.96 was a lot of income for one month. I am very proud of the success. A few facebook ads and the purple milkweed seed sales really generated a lot of sales.

​October Expenses: Spending was definitely the highest ever. $941.79 is a lot to spend in one month. I feel like it was a good investment in the future. Spending today should translate to sales oven the winter and into the spring of 2018. On the positive side I obtained some of the hardest to source milkweed seeds there are. Visit the store to check out the inventory. Some of the newest items will not appear in the store till December.

October monarch

September Income: Income is up ​year-over-year but September hasn't been a strong month for income. The $110.06 of income came from seed sales; $48. Affiliate income accounted for $42.06. An account adjustment for a failed purchase returned $20 to the Grow Milkweed Plants account.

​September Expenses: To increase and diversify the supply of native milkweed seeds I spent an astounding $565.05 on seeds. These seeds are available for purchase in the Grow Milkweed Plants Store right now! More milkweed seeds are in stock now than at any time in the past.

monarch butterfly release

August Income: The August semi-annual sale mentioned in July went exceptionally well. 84 seed packs were sold to 25 customers at a 50% discount for a sales total of $344 before expenses. Affiliate incomes from links provided by Amazon provided $71.40. Click here to make purchases that support Grow Milkweed Plants thru affiliate's associate program.​​August Expenses: $164.27 spent directly on milkweed habitat which includes pots, soil and planting supplies. New to the tool chest is a JIM-GEM Container Dibble Bar, Long Dibble Point which will be used to transplant native milkweed to the ground. $98.58 in shipping charges. Spent $14.99 to vet Milkweed Fiber Direct for endorsement of their ﻿﻿Etsy Product﻿﻿. Spent $23.90 for asclepias cordifolia seeds that I will try growing.

milkweed for sale

July Income: The mailman asked me if business was slowing down for the Summer. That rubbed me the wrong way. Mailbox filled up due to a current sale running thru August! I need to find an outlet for the milkweed plants that are growing. I'll either give them away, guerrilla plant them or add them to my garden. Affiliate incomes from links provided by Amazon provided $49.42. Click here to make purchases that support Grow Milkweed Plants thru affiliate's associate program.

​July Expenses: Very conservative with the expenses in July. Paid out the necessary shipping expenses on the fifteen orders during July totaling $66.83 and $9.04 went to my payment processor; paypal.

Asclepias incarnata

June Income: With the heat of summer comes a slowdown of seed sales. Craigslist has not created a sales stream for the milkweed plants that I have. It was good to have $112 in website sales and $38.60 from amazon affiliate commission.

​June Expenses: The expenses stayed really low. To try and help the native solitary bees I purchased a bee condo and extra nesting tubes for $46.15. Helping the bees is in-line with the goals here at Grow Milkweed Plants. Read more about "The four B's of milkweed" in this link. Shipping expenses were $39.

May Income: Good month of income from sales. $760 in sales. Amazon associate affiliate income totaled $43.21. The highest and best compliment was a donation of $10 from a customer who had seeds delayed. I promptly shipped out replacement seeds. Thank you for that donation, I appreciate you Dave!

​May Expenses: I fought fraud and won! A fraudulent transaction of $485 pinged my account and I freaked out. Paypal made the account whole again the following day. A seed purchase of $294.71 has created a good inventory. May have overbought since seed sales slow down in the summer. A sale may be coming in early fall 2017. Shipping amounted to $183.63. Bought cool equipment to grow milkweed plants. Bought $7 or 25 seeds of asclepias eriocarpa on ebay.

April Income: Seed sales totaled an astounding $832. Affiliate income from partnership with Amazon was $24.30. A store return refunded $28.14.​April Expenses: Shipping remains the highest expense. Shipping seeds (free for customers) came at a cost of $251.81. April shipping includes Milkweed Madness prizes. Eleven contestants won prizes and these were all delivered in April. Congratulations to the winners! Some new equipment was purchased to start growing milkweed indoors. Photo is of the Milkweed Madness prize structure.

March Income: Seed sales totaled $384. Affiliate income from partnership with Amazon totaled $32.46.​March Expenses: Shipping was the highest expense. Shipping seeds (free for customers) came at a cost of $76.28. A group of fourteen march orders shipped in April. As a result the April shipping costs will be above average. Photo is of late March orders prepared to ship.

February Income: Seed sales totaled $240. Affiliate income from partnership with Amazon totaled $33.86.​February Expenses: The largest purchase was $294.71 for 2lbs of milkweed seed from Stock Seed Farms in NE. Shipping seeds (free for customers) came at a cost of $58.65.